Just days after the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy, a little-known episode added a layer of intrigue to one of the most
analyzed crimes of the 20th century. On November 9, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald,
Kennedy's alleged assassin, attempted to establish contact with Soviet
officials in the United States, claiming to be under constant FBI surveillance.
This attempt at communication, which occurred just two weeks before the
assassination, has been the subject of debate for decades due to its
implications for the interpretation of the case.
According to declassified records, the letter was typed, a
rarity in Oswald's usual correspondence, as he frequently wrote his messages by
hand. This seemingly minor detail has been interpreted by some analysts as a
possible sign of forgery or external manipulation. In the text, Oswald
expressed concern about "pressure" from the U.S. authorities and
sought—at least ostensibly—to reconnect with his former Soviet ties, recalling
that he had lived in the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1962.
The document also refers to a meeting between an FBI agent
and Marina Oswald, the accused's wife, during which the agent allegedly tried
to persuade her to "betray" the Soviet Union, offering her protection
in exchange for collaboration with the US government. This detail reinforces
the atmosphere of tension and mistrust surrounding the Oswald couple in the
months leading up to the attack.
The KGB's reaction was immediate. The head of the Soviet
station in the United States sent a coded translation of the letter to Moscow,
warning that, in his opinion, the document was "a forgery and a
provocation" likely orchestrated by US intelligence services. In his
confidential report, the Soviet officer warned that the purpose could be to
implicate the USSR in a potential international scandal or to create an
apparent link between Oswald and Moscow, at a time when Cold War tensions were
at their highest point following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Over time, historians have debated the true meaning of this
letter. Some argue that it was a desperate attempt by Oswald to regain the
Soviets' protection or understanding, while others interpret it as part of a
plot to manipulate the post-assassination narrative. In any case, the episode
reflects the climate of paranoia, espionage, and dual loyalties that
characterized the intelligence world in the 1960s.
The “typed letter” of November 1963, whether authentic or
fabricated, remains an enigmatic piece of the historical puzzle surrounding the
death of John F. Kennedy. Its content, style, and the reactions it provoked in
both Washington and Moscow highlight how, even before the shooting in Dallas,
the shadows of conspiracy already loomed over the name of Lee Harvey Oswald.